facebook-page-view
Advertisement

Aetna International Acquires 100% Stake In Indian Health Start-up IHO

By Anil Das

  • 13 Jul 2011

US-based Aetna International has acquired 100 per cent stake in Indian Health Organization Pvt Ltd, an Indian start-up for an undisclosed amount, the company said.

With this acquisition Aetna will gain entry into Indian market and get access to 80,000 members enlisted as IHO customers, network of 3,000 doctors, dentists, clinics and labs, as well as preventative care and wellness programs and opportunity for Aetna to diversify into a new geography, the company added.

IHO was founded in 2008 by Visham Sikand and Sunando Sen with 2,500 doctors, 800 pharmacies, 300 laboratories and 500 dentists in their network. It provides health card for an annual fee that offers card holders diagnostic tests and medical consultations at discounted rates. The card can also be used at a network of doctors, dentists and pharmacies for further discounts.

Advertisement

“India’s growing health care market presents tremendous opportunity. The out-of-pocket medical spend in India is more than $30 billion annually, which is more than 60 per cent of the total healthcare expenditure in the country.  The service offered by IHO targets that direct consumer spending on health care by providing access to primary and preventative care,”  Derek Goldberg, Aetna’s Managing Director, South East Asia said.

Aetna intends to retain the management and all employees at IHO which presently operates in 18 cities across India, the company said.

Headquartered in US, Aetna is a global health care benefits company catering to approximately 33.8 million people with information and resources to make informed decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range of traditional, voluntary and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life and disability plans, and medical management capabilities and health care management services for Medicaid plans.

Advertisement

Share article on

Advertisement
Advertisement